Friday, November 7, 2014

Haiti - Final Countdown!

The first half of our team leaves today, and Rachel and I leave in just seven short days! Time has just flown by yet we are truly feeling prepared and at peace to go :)

Thanks
to the Lord for his incredible provision! At this time we are over half
funded, and Rachel has a couple prepaid babysitting jobs to do when she
is back. We were able to get our immunizations and anti-malaria
prescriptions last weekend, thanks to a great local nurse who provides
affordable missions travel vaccines at the Good News Clinic in Rockwood.

Rachel
is wrapping up drivers ed in the days to come. She has to take her
finals early due to our trip, so please keep her in your prayers
Wednesday and Thursday evening from 5-8pm. (her sister Emily will be
doing the presentation portion of their final alone on Monday the 17th,
and as long as that goes well, and Rachel passes her other finals, she
will have passed drives ed!) Rachel also has classes to prepare to miss
the week we are out, which means the pressure really is on her!

I
have found the Lord to be quite a teacher to me in these past weeks;
learning much about dependence and trust in Him through car troubles and
physical challenges. I am suffering from increased numbness in my right
arm due to disc compression in my neck - it had been almost completely
alleviated through massage/pt/chiro, but has returned with a vengeance. I
saw a neurosurgeon and we are awaiting a new MRI to see what we are
dealing with. I have confidence that this will not cause any issues in
Haiti; it seems to be an issue primarily when sitting (at a desk or in
my car) and in Haiti we will be doing everything but sit! You can pray
that Providence (my insurance provider) will have mercy and grant me a
second MRI this year! Other than that, I'm able to adjust myself as
needed to keep the muscle spasms at bay, and I'm practicing the things
I've learned through physical therapy. Work is going well and I believe
everything will be just fine in my absence. At home, the rest of our
family is prepared to take care of things (it does help to have three
teenagers and a willing husband, along with a terrific extended family
and friends!) My brother (Nick) is at peace about our trip (he is an
inmate at CRCI) and we will be spending time with my mom Ellen this
weekend (she turns 60 while we are gone!)

We have some last minute things to pickup and
anti-malaria meds to take on Sunday, but otherwise, we are just readying
our hearts and minds for the ways the Lord will use us specifically
while we are in Haiti. May we be so available to His service home and away,